Man sentenced to 30 years for sexual assault of woman, 83

A 36-year-old homeless man was sentenced to 30 years today after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting an 83-year-old woman who gave him money and food.

Dennis Dodson pled guilty to the attack in September of 2011.

Dodson, who was homeless, attacked the woman in a vacant area behind a Home Depot store where he had been living in Orland Park, according to a press release from the Cook County state's attorney's office.

The victim, 83, was walking home on Sept. 22, 2011 and was on a path behind the Home Depot store. When she encountered Dodson, she gave him $5 and walked home, the release said.

When she got home, she gathered a few items, including food and more money, to give to Dodson. She then walked back to the vacant area behind the store and gave Dodson $10 and crackers. She told Dodson she was going to make calls to local shelters to try to get him help, the release said.

The next day, she called her church and a social service agency and was told to call the police. She called the Orland Park Police Department the next day seeking help for Dodson, the release said.

After she called police, she went back to the area and told Dodson she called police to help him. At the time, Dodson was lying on the ground with several beer cans around him, the release said.

When the victim told Dodson about her conversation with police, he got angry and shoved the victim to the ground by her shoulders. He began kissing her and she screamed for him to stop. Dodson then put his hands over the woman's mouth and performed a sex act on her, the release said.

Dodson let the woman go and rode away on his bike. The victim crawled through a fence and went home and called the police, the release said.

Dodson was eventually caught and identified by the woman.

Dodson was sentenced to 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections today after pleading guilty to the attack.